La Valse

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La Valse - Poème chorégraphique pour Orchester is a work by Maurice Ravel composed between 1906 and 1920 .

History of origin

In 1919, Ravel received a commission from Sergei Djagilew for a ballet on the subject of “Vienna and its Waltzes” for the Ballets Russes . When composing, he resorted to material that he had created from 1906. When the finished piece was performed in 1920 in the circle of Dyagilev, Stravinsky , Poulenc and others, Dyagilev refused it because it was not a ballet, but a portrait of a ballet. La Valse was premiered on December 12, 1920 in Paris as a purely orchestral work. It was not until 1928 that Bronislava Nijinska choreographed a one-act ballet for Ida Rubinstein on La Valse , further choreographic implementations followed in 1951 by George Balanchine and 1958 by Frederick Ashton .

In La Valse elements of the Viennese waltz are taken up, which are expanded with the means of impressionistic harmony and rhythm. This was intended to represent a kind of apotheosis of the Viennese waltz, with which Ravel associated the "impression of a fantastic and deadly kind of dervish dance". To make it clearer, Ravel precedes his score with the following program: “Through the floating veils of mist, couples can be seen waltzing through the fog. Gradually the veils dissolve: one sees a huge hall with countless people whirling around in circles. The scene is becoming increasingly bright; suddenly the chandeliers shine brightly. An imperial residence around 1855. “Gradually, distorted rhythms and dissonant harmonies take the place of the waltz bliss. The piece ends in an outbreak of violence and chaos.

The piece was originally entitled Vienna . Since this did not seem appropriate in post-war France, it was changed to La Valse .

Well-known interpretations come from the choreographers George Balanchine ( New York City Ballet 1951), Frederick Ashton ( Royal Ballet 1958), Richard Wherlock (Basel Ballet 2011) and Lynne Charles (National Ballet of China 2013 and Ballett im Revier 2014).

Occupation and duration

3 large flutes (3rd also piccolo ), 3 oboes (3rd also English horn ), 2 clarinets in A and B, bass clarinet in A and B, 2 bassoons , contrabassoon , 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones , Tuba , 3 timpani , percussion ( triangle , snare drum , tambourine , cymbal , bass drum , castanets , tam-tam , 2 bells in e 'and e' ', 1 crotale in c' '), 2 harps , strings .

A performance lasts about 12 minutes.

Arrangements for piano

In 1920 Ravel also made a version for piano solo. The audible orchestral part is largely reproduced; where Ravel did not want to introduce further complexity into the regular piano setting, an additional part is notated separately. Most performers use these additional voices and work them into the piano setting. Due to its great difficulty, the solo version was seldom performed until the 1970s and the composer's other arrangement for two pianos was preferred. A slow renaissance began with the recording of Abbey Simon in 1974 and the TV recording of Glenn Gould in 1975; meanwhile the solo version is at least as popular as the one for two pianos. The four-handed treatment by Lucien Garban , on the other hand, never caught on.

literature

  • Douglas A. Lee: Masterworks of 20th-Century Music: the Modern Repertory of the Symphony Orchestra . Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-93847-3 , pp. 326-328.

swell

  1. ^ Edward Downes: Guide to Symphonic Music. Walker and Company, New York 1976, ISBN 0-8027-7177-7 .

Web links